‘Doomed to Succeed’

“Doomed To Succeed,” by Dennis Ross, is an extraordinary book for anyone that wants to understand how U.S. Presidents from Harry Truman through Barack Obama have reacted toward Israel, their policies and the reasoning behind them.

Ross has been a direct participant in shaping U.S. policy toward the Middle East, and Israel specifically, for nearly 30 years, participating in two Republican and two Democratic administrations. This is not a history of Arab-Israeli peace efforts, but rather a discussion of the evolution of Israeli-American diplomatic relations.

In reading this book, people will learn how the different Presidents have viewed the relationship with Israel. For example, John F. Kennedy was the first president to sell arms to Israel and talk about the special relationship, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson were preoccupied with other events such as the Cold War and Vietnam, and that the reason Richard Nixon supplied Israel with arms on the eighth day of the Yom Kippur War was because no cease fire was accepted, the Russians were resupplying Egypt and Syria, and he did not want it to be seen in the context as Soviet arms defeating U.S. arms. The chapter on Bill Clinton is also very insightful in that Ross views this president as the only one who “did not see Israel as a problem and refused to have public discourse with Israel.”

One of the most important points to be made in the book is that presidents, such as Eisenhower, Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Gearge H.W. Bush, and Obama, were not successful when they chose to redefine the relationship with Israel in order to gain with the Arabs. Yet, those presidents who cooperated with Israel did not have the expected negative fallout with the Arab countries.

Ross emphasizes in the book, “As the scope of U.S. strategic and military cooperation with Israel has grown to unprecedented levels, the U.S. presence in a number of Arab Gulf states has also dramatically increased.”

He said the recent Iran Deal is the perfect example.

“What I say in the book is that the Arab leaders are focused on their regional rivals who see it as a direct threat to their security and survival: Egypt in the 1950s and 1960s, Saddam and Gaddafi the 1970s and 1980s, and today with the Iranians. Specifically the sanction relief that will allow them more resources to cause trouble.”

He also makes an interesting premise, that the Palestinian issue is not a priority for the Arab leaders

Regarding the Palestinians, President Obama, according to Ross, “sees them as too weak to criticize and therefore reserves his criticism for Israel. The problem is when you give them a pass it becomes difficult for them to compromise because they also see themselves as the victim. If you always give them a pass and never hold them accountable why would they change their behavior? I remember commenting, if they are too weak to be criticized, to weak to be held accountable, then they are too weak to have a state. Those in this administration that feel that there must be a peace accord between the Palestinians and Israelis do not understand that nothing is going to change what is happening in Syria, or with ISIS.”

He explained directly, the reason he titled the book “Doomed To Succeed.”

“Although we may have differences from time to time, what binds us is so much stronger than what divides us,” Ross said. “Our relationship is rooted in shared values of being governed by the rule of law, civil liberties, separation of powers, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and respect for gay rights and women rights. There is no other country like Israel in the Middle East. It has retained its democratic character even with all the threats it faces.”

“Doomed to Succeed” offers compelling advice for how to understand the priorities of Arab leaders, Israel, and how future administrations might best shape U.S. policy in that light. This book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the U.S.-Israel relationship.

U.S. Marines assigned to 3rd Marine Division deployed to the Indo-Asia region send messages back home to loved ones for Valentines Day. If you know anyone who is currently deployed from 3rd Marine Division, listen in and you might have someone giving a message to you.

171216-M-DI829-1001 ARABIAN GULF (Dec. 16, 2017) Lightning strikes near the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) as it transits the Arabian Gulf. Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Mark Vetere/Released)